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One of the coolest things about having 5 kids is that it doesn’t take much to turn an ordinary dinner into a party. Add a couple friends and one set of grandparents, and there you go – party central! As you can imagine, it’s kind of hard to turn to an offer to host a holiday party “for kids from 1 to 92″ with Flatout Flatbreads. Because now, we’re talking party and pizza – two things sure to score big mom points for me from the kids!

Since our party spanned the ages, including Jill at 2 as the youngest up to Grandpa and Grandma, I wanted to make sure we had plenty of yummy options for everyone involved. So I put together an international-themed make-your-own-pizza buffet so that we could all create the pizzas of our dreams. Using the Flatout flatbreads made the entire process a snap.

We began the night with two theme-appropirate appetizer pizzas for everyone to share. We had a crispy Spicy Italian Flatbread topped with pesto, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and a toasted Whole Wheat Flatbread topped with hummus, cucumber slices, Feta cheese, chopped parsley and pine nuts. They were both a hit with everyone! (And I loved the hummus one so much that it has become my favorite lunch on a regular basis now.)

For the make-your-own-International-pizza buffet, I tried to cover as many bases as humanly possible to allow for some fun and delicious creations. Here’s a list of all the ingredients available for the party-goers to top their desired Flatout flatbread selections:

• Pizza sauce
• Ranch dressing
• Buffalo wing sauce
• Barbecue sauce
• Refried beans
• Salsa
• Shredded mozzarella
• Shredded Italian-blend cheese
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• Chicken pieces
• Taco meat
• Bacon
• Pepperoni
• Ham
• Diced onions
• Diced green peppers
• Sliced mushrooms
• Black olives
• Corn
• Celery (for Buffalo Chicken pizzas)
• Pineapple
• Italian seasoning
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Pizza seasoning
• And many more…

I also set out individual squares of aluminum foil so that everyone could build their pizzas directly on the foil for easy transferring to the oven.

Everyone had a blast building their pizzas and no two were the same. Since I was in charge of the oven, I had the pleasure of seeing each creation, and trust me, there were same great ones!

We are actually hoping to recreate this DIY pizza party with our neighbors for a New Year’s celebration since it was so much fun. I love how endless the possibilities are and how easy the entire process is with the Flatout flatbreads.

Here’s a little more info on the Flatout flatbreads so that you can start planning your own party. The flatbreads are available in 4 flavors: Rustic White, Spicy Italian, Heritage Wheat, and Rosemary & Olive Oil. The pizzas can be baked in the over or cooked on a grill for tasty pizza in about 6 minutes.

For more inspiration, check out the Walmart Holiday Guide (featuring the Flatout Artisan Thin Crust Flatbreads) and the Walmart Holiday Entertaining Pinterest Board.

Full Disclosure: I received free product and compensation to facilitate this review. However, as always, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are entirely my own.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a round-up post of our family’s favorite recipes, but now that soup season is officially here, I thought it was time to rectify that situation. You see, soups of all kinds are a favorite around here, especially for me! I could definitely enjoy a steamy bowl of soup every single day without complaint.

So, with that said, here are some of our favorite soups.

Ground Beef Stroganoff Soup

15 Minute Curry Vegetable Chowder

Cheese Soup

Taco Soup

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

(We just had this on Sunday, and although I wish I’d gotten a new picture of it, I have to tell you it’s a great one to serve kids. Our kids could not get over how much it tasted like a cheeseburger and it made for a really fun dinner as they tried to guess the ingredients.)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Mini Meatball & Arugula Soup

And of course no soup round-up would be complete without our all-time favorite (and the most popular recipe on this site)…

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

What are some of your favorite soups? I am always open to new soup ideas!!

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining The Motherhood and chef George Duran for an online cooking demonstration and Q&A session. George prepared two delicious meals on the grill and offered up a ton of great grilling advice. Aside from making me hungry for my past-due lunch, the half hour of watching George grill made me long for the return of warmer weather so that we can fire up the grill on a regular basis. I’m plotting ways to convince Eric to grill at least every other day. We’ll see if he’s willing to get on board with that plan or not.

In the meantime, here are some of the tips George shared with the audience.

…on grilling vegetables: George likes grilling zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant with the skin removed.  Spray the vegetable chunks or thick slices with PAM® and throw on the grill long enough to get grill marks on them, then remove and  season with salt, pepper and a splash of olive oil. Avoid thin veggies that fall through the grates, like asparagus spears. George also recommended using a grill mat by Cookina that he’s discovered for grilling veggies.

…on what fish to grill: Definitely try grilling salmon or other fish with skin. Lay skin side directly on the grill. Because it’s fatty, it won’t really stick, and you won’t be eating the skin, but it will help keep the fish moist.  Tilapia is also great to grill. It cooks quickly. Because tilapia fillets are typically skinless, be sure to use more PAM® non-stick spray to prevent sticking.

…on making burgers to please adults and kids: Put a twist on a classic cheeseburger by stuffing a cube of cheese inside a burger. To keep the cheese from melting and oozing out of the middle of your ground beef or turkey, freeze the cheese cubes before putting them inside the meat.

…on the best foods for grilling novices to try (besides hot dogs and burgers): Try thick chunks of veggies, and chicken breasts. Marinate thin-cut chicken, or use a dry rub and grill quickly on both sides.

…on cooking corn on the cob: George grills his corn with husks on, after trimming the ends of the husks. Don’t bother to soak; there’s plenty of moisture already inside the husk. Grill until husks are burnt, let cool for 5 minutes, and corn will be perfectly cooked.

…on cooking steak perfectly: Stick with grass-fed, organic beef. George says to sear the beef over direct heat, then finish cooking it over indirect heat. Use a meat thermometer to test doneness.  Digital or standard meat thermometer is fine.

…on grilling veggie burgers: Use your PAM® non-stick spray to prevent more burger sticking to your grill than ends up on your bun.  Toast the buns, too.

…on whether meat should come to room temp before grilling: George says, never, never, NEVER! A lot of bacteria can grow, and it’s totally unnecessary to have room-temperature meat for proper cooking. Sometimes George will even freeze thin cuts of meat before grilling so they have time to caramelize on the outside without overcooking on the inside.

…on grilling dessert: George says you can bake a cake on the grill using indirect heat (you can even do this on a campfire). Also recommended: Grilled Banana Split Sundae, in which pound cake, bananas, and cherries are skewered and grilled before the sundae is assembled. Grilling the ice cream is not recommended.

…on cleaning your grill grates: Have a very good, big, metal grill brush and replace it every year. Also have an adjustable spray bottle of water handy. After grilling, mist the grill, which creates steam, and scrub with your brush. Straight streams of water are good for taking care of flare-ups.

Click over to The Motherhood to watch the video and see George in action. Also, check out ReadySetEat for some great grilling recipes.